That Which Awakens Me: A Creative Woman's Poetic Memoir of Self-Discovery

By Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke

In the poetic memoir That Which Awakens Me, Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke shares her journey of self-discovery from a law school graduate to a creative woman who learned to open the door to authentic living.

When Leeke graduated from law school in 1989, she was a twenty-something with a life plan focused on becoming a successful attorney. Using her multiple bar exam failures and two bouts of unemployment as a catalyst for self-discovery and lifestyle reinvention, Leeke followed her own unique path during the past twenty years and made changes in the way she feels, thinks, lives, works, and manages her finances. Through poetic reflection and personal stories, she shares the lessons that taught her to trust her intuition, expand her spiritual practices, heal emotional wounds, tap into her creativity, discover her passions, open her eyes to hidden opportunities, volunteer and serve her local community, travel the world, and heed her calling as a writer, artist, creativity coach, yoga teacher, Reiki Master practitioner, radio host, blogger, social media strategist, and innerpreneur.

That Which Awakens Me provides insight for anyone seeking guidance on how to both handle and benefit from the ups and downs of their own life journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Nov 17, 2009
• ISBN: 9781440148033

Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke

Ananda Leeke is a lawyer turned “Jill of many trades.” She is an innerpreneur, author, artist, coach, and yoga teacher. She founded the Digital Sister Network and currently serves as a blogger ambassador for AARP, Macy’s Heart of Haiti campaign, and Maiden Nation. She currently lives in Washington, DC. Visit www.anandaleeke.com.

Book preview

Copyright © 2009 by Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Cover Design by Madelyn C. Leeke

Front and Back Jacket Artwork © Madelyn C. Leeke

Painting on Front Jacket: That Which Awakens Me – Kreative Grooviness, 2005

Photograph of the Author © Leigh Mosley

Painting on Back Cover: Love Mentalism, 2005

iUniverse books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

iUniverse

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.iuniverse.com

1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid.

ISBN: 978-1-4401-4802-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4401-4803-3 (ebk)

iUniverse rev. date: 11/12/2009

missing image file

That Which Awakens Me, 2008

Magic marker on paper

© Madelyn C. Leeke

Also by Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke

Love’s Troubadours – Karma: Book One, a novel

Contents

To Spirit and Mother Earth

Letter to Reader

Acknowledgements

Chapter One: Honoring Ancestors. Family. History. Cultural Legacies.

Elmina: Homage to the Ancestors

They Want Me to Hear Their Songs

Legacy of My Womanline

Reflections on Mama Saartjie, The Saartjie Project Performance, and My Womanline

My Kentucky Womanline

My Great-Great-Great-Grandmother Ann Daniel (born in the 1840s)

My Great-Great-Grandmother Fannie Daniel Thomas (born in the 1860s)

My Great-Grandmother Eunice Ann Thomas Roberts (born in 1879)

My Great-Grandmother Florida Jones Leeke (born in the 1870s)

My Grandmother Frederica Stanley Roberts Leeke (born in 1915)

My Grandmother Dorothy Mae Johnson Gartin (born in 1912)

Pink October

My Mother Theresa B. Gartin Leeke

Honoring the Presence and Memory of Mothering Folk

My Grandfather Robert Warren Gartin, Sr.

My Grandfather John Leonard Leeke

The Leak Men

My Father John Frederic Leeke

Raining on My Father’s Birthday

Sundays with Daddy

Libations for My Ancestors

Chapter Two: Girlhood Memories. Defining Self. Identities. Archetypes.

Snapshots

Through My Black Girl’s Window

When I Became a Girl

Attitude Adjustment

Chocolate Bar

Insights from My Childhood

Episodes in the Life of a Brazen Careerist

How Do I Define Myself?

Naming Myself

Archetypes

Ancestor, My Wise Woman and Griot

Ananda, My Spirit Woman and Inner Metta Mother

Kiamsha, My Creative Woman

Madelyn, My CEO Woman

Cheryl, My Balanced Woman

Sapphire, My Warrior Woman

Broomhilda, My Inner Critic

Puf, My Girl Child

What is a Black American Princess - BAP?

My 15 BAP Commandments

Chapter Three: Spirituality. Community. Choices. Lessons. Love. Joy.

Prayer to the Great Spirit

I Flew to the Sun and Burned

Conversation between Myself and My Higher Self

Discovering a Spiritual Home in Law School

Leaving St. Augustine and Finding Unity of Washington, D.C.

Transition from Unity to All Souls Unitarian Church

All Souls

Blessed Am I

Snap

zen

refuge3  

Awakening Right Speech with Meditation and Writing in My Sangha Community

People of Color Sangha

Metta is Mother

Labor Day Reflections from Oyster Harbor Beach in Annapolis

Lessons Learned During the 2004 Marine Corps Marathon Training

The Word

Love Energy and Love Mentalism

Loving Me

Remember the Loveliness Inside of You

Joy, the Psalm of Our Lives

Chapter Four: Creativity. Surrender. Courage. Beauty. Authentic Expression.

Creativity

My Creative Inheritance

Setting Your Creative Soul Free

Creativity Then and Now

How My Love Affair with Art Began

Art Marries Paper

My Art Every Day Month Adventures

Creative Lifeline

Ethelbert

Creative Paradigm

21 Drops of Inspiration in My Creative Bucket

My Creative Brethren

A Dance Floor for Spirit’s Creativity

My Creative Soul Dances in Between a Rock and a Marketplace

Chapter Five: My Writing Life. Poetry. Revealing Vulnerabilities.

My Writing Life

wake up call #20

wake up call #24

Sage-Femme

weaving my memoir

Writing My Memoir

Defining the Journey to Artistic Stability

Poetry

When I Lost My Virginity as a Poet

Poetry Thursdays

My Twitter Poetry

My Voice

Chapter Six: Yoga. Mindfulness Meditation. Green Living Journey.

Isvara

Yoga and Writing

Yogini’s Revelations

yoga and meditation in the morning

My Morning

Mantra Meditation

Present Moment Acceptance

thursday morning poetry

the power of my breath

Kundalini

The Word Green

Go Green

My Green Living Journey

Let America Be Green America Again

Chapter Seven: Service. Vocation. Answering Your Life’s Calling.

The Birth of Service

Our Creativity

Serving the African American Community and Sharing African American Art at Howard University Hospital

P.O.E.T.R.Y.

Because of Them

Tyrone

Tasko, My Teacher

From Tasko’s Window on 4North

Woman Lost and Found

Love Surrounds

Chavez and Garcia

Magnetic Poetry in June

Wisdom from the Hospital Bed

His Photography

Preparing for April

His World

Saying Thank You

Living Well

Concrete Decisions

Art in the Hospital

Jazz Man

A Kindred Sistalove

Painter

Beauty of a Sunday Morning

A Card for the White House

Chapter Eight: Goddess. Sacred Feminine. Womanist Spirit. Sisterhood.

The Sacred Feminine in The Secret Life of Bees

The Sacred Feminine and Fibroids in My Uterus

From the Book of Womanesis

A Garden of Oneness on Earth

Daughters of Ma’at

My Mother

Our Mother Who Art in Heaven

THUG

Sistalove - The Goddess Within: Celebrating the Goddess Oshun

I Thee Wed

One Greater

La Bohemienne

Sensual Intimacies Living within A Woman’s Soul

Gathered In Our Own Name

I am my sistas’ keeper

Sista7: The Obama Women

Who Will Tell My Sista Stories?

A Letter to My Sisters

Reflections on the Sweet Spot of Sisterhood

In the Midst of Gamma Women

Third World Woman

A Cry for Global Womanism: The Way of the Magnetic Path

Our Womanist Spirit

Lessons I Learned from Sex and the City

Sisterhood, the Blog

Twenty-First Century Women’s Manifesto

At A Crossroads of Awakening

Chapter Nine: Home. DC. 9/11. America. President Obama.

Home

Howard University Graduation

D.C. in the 90s

April in Washington

Rainy May Saturday Afternoon at Cyberstop Café on 17th Street

Life Outside of Starbucks on 16th and U on a Rainy Saturday

16th Street on Sunday Morning

W-O-M-B on U Street

Pure Divinity at Mocha Hut

Love Café

The Radio Was Blasting From a Car That Morning

Soundbytes and Snapshots: Signifying Stateside

Color Line

A Letter to the American Society for the Preservation of Clear Folks

Streams

On the Way to Virginia … Made It to Brooklyn Instead

The First Time I Met New York City

Open Hearts Filled with Hope

Yes We Can

America 2008

The Night Barack Was Elected

1968/2008

A New Day

Chapter Ten: Citoyen du Monde. Cultura. Music. Travel.

My Adopted Culture

CUBA: Reflections on My First Day Back

Joal, Senegal

Paris

Luxor, Egypt

wave goodbye

wake up call #9

Dwelling in a Love Supreme

Monk’s Ballad

Our Kind of Blue

Josephine Baker

Colored Gurl Folk Music

Badu

PAC

Impact/Effect of Traveling the Road of FiNN’s Acoustic Afro Hip Hop

Author Bio

Exhibition History

Literary Accomplishments and Activities

A Conversation with Ananda Leeke

Creativity Appendices

Appendix A - That Which Awakens Me Journaling Exercise

Appendix B - Know Thyself: Six Word Memoir Exercises

Discovering Self Through Six-Word Memoirs

Appendix B - Inner Critic Exercises

Appendix C - Blessed Is the Fruit of Thy Womb: Creativity Exercises for Women

What Does Creativity Look Like in Your Life?

To Spirit and Mother Earth

My womanline – great-great-great-great-grandmother Ella Daffie Boulding; great-great- great-grandmothers Ann Daniel, Martha Thomas, Sarah Martin Bolden, Carolyn Weir, and Jane Washington; great-great-grandmothers Fannie Daniel Thomas, Cratter Weir Roberts, Ida Goens Bolden, Elizabeth Litzy Johnson, Nancy Farmer, Mille Ann Gartin and Sarah Washington Jones; great-grandmothers Eunice Ann Thomas Roberts, Iona Bolden Johnson King, Florida Jones Leeke, and Ida Farmer Gartin; grandmothers Dorothy Mae Johnson Gartin and Frederica Stanley Roberts Leeke; and mother Theresa Gartin Leeke

My mothering folk Madelyn Carol Grace, Dorothy Poinsette, Corine L. Green, and Agnes Rosebud Roseboro

My father, friend, and fan John F. Leeke

"Om Bhur Buvaha Suvaha

Thath Savithur Varenyam

Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi

Dhiyo Yonaha Prachodayath

We meditate on the glory of the Creator;

Who has created the Universe;

Who is the embodiment of divine power, love, light, joy, grace, peace, and knowledge;

We pray for the divine light to illumine our minds." The Gayatri Mantra

A wise person draws from the well within. Proverbs 20:5

Go within. God is working on the inside. Just go into the sanctuary of your heart, offer your prayers and your worship there. Swamini Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda, African American spiritual teacher, jazz pianist, organist, harpist, and composer

She called in her soul to come and see. Zora Neale Hurston, African American anthropologist, novelist, and author

Revolution begins with the self, in the self. Toni Cade Bambara, African American author

It’s good sometimes to put the stuff on paper about what is and what isn’t. This you are doing and it’s very therapeutic for you I know. Grow child, but remember, as you grow, you will continue to find and discover some scary parts of yourself. But in the healing process, three fourths of the healing takes place from within. Only you can do this. Theresa B. Leeke, African American educator, musician, and nonprofit organization leader

Often, what we write, the music we write, and the pictures we paint are dialogues with our deepest consciousness. Marita Golden, African American writer and educator

We build our temples for tomorrow, strong as we know how, and we stand on top of the mountain, free within ourselves. Langston Hughes, African American poet

Letter to Reader

Dear Reader,

Today marks the 20th anniversary of my graduation from Howard University School of Law. When I marched across the stage to receive my degree, my goal in life was to become a successful lawyer. I never imagined I would become an innerpreneur, a term coined by Ron Rentel in his book, Karma Queens, Geek Gods and Innerpreneurs that refers to a person who uses her business to find personal fulfillment and create social change. I also never imagined I would write a book about my life journey. Life is full of surprises, right?

As I write this letter, one of my favorite Pat Metheny compositions is playing on Pandora.com. It is called If I Could. The beauty of the instrumental music chases away the tingling fears I have allowed to dictate what I share with you, my dear reader. It echoes what my soul truly knows. So I dive deep into Metheny’s music and surrender to the present moment.

In this space of the all eternal now, I lay my burdens down and confess that when I started dreaming of this memoir, I had a plan. I wanted it to be organized in a certain way. I had very firm ideas about weaving sections of my life into an orderly yet fashionable story quilt. Well, that didn’t happen. How could it?

My creative birthing process is magical and messy. It is filled with dreams, memories, and realities that offer light and dark moments. It makes me run from my fears and celebrate my overcoming. It gives me great laughter and exposes me to deep pain. It forces me to pause in unexpected places. It reveals truths and wounds I do not want to know. It turns me inside out and serves as a catalyst for healing. As a result, I have become intimately acquainted with my vulnerabilities as a writer:

It's confession time.

My journal opens.

I write a truth painted with revelations I'd rather not share.

They bring me to Elegba’s crossroads.

A choice must be made.

I know I need to write it and see it in order to move through it.

So I step onto the page naked.

Without protection my fingers cringe, but I write anyway.

I write because it saves my life.

And right now I need to be my own savior cuz' I am on the edge of self-sabotage.

My pen touches the page reluctantly.

She pauses before pressing into a moment that feels like a pre-Pandora's box opening with wild and furious fears.

I breathe in and out like the good yoga teacher I am.

My eyes close.

A tear invites itself into the corner of my right eye.

Its twin appears in my left eye.

Yin Yang emotions merge.

They marry.

In celebration of their union, the ink flows from my pen.

I take one more deep breath.

Exhaling I feel myself beginning to unravel.

My vulnerabilities as a writer appear.

I have nowhere to run.

So I write.

I have been struggling with completing my poetic memoir.

My struggle is rooted in the fears of my little girl self.

Her fears revolve around sharing too much of herself on paper.

She doesn't want to be judged, attacked, or held to some outrageous standards that force her into prisons of perfection.

She wants to run and be free without sharing herself.

She wants to keep it all a secret.

She thinks my writing gives some folks an unrealistic idea of who I truly am.

And I have to admit some of her fears are legitimate which is why the adult parts of me have taken a leave of absence from writing the poetic memoir.

They are all on vacation.

Before leaving they were kind enough to hire a narrator.

She witnesses and records what is going on without judgment.

What she sees is a woman with eight archetypal selves.

When they work together, they create a life of beauty and joy.

When one of them is scared, a number of things can happen.

Sometimes they help the self who is scared to calm down and understand that all things are working out for their highest and greatest good.

Other times they can’t reach a consensus on how to provide support.

In those times, all hell can break loose.

They can engage in nasty battles.

But this isn't one of those times.

They all realize the magnitude of the fears.

They all know it hits home in a way that affects them all.

They are not trying to figure it out or make them go away.

They are accepting where they are.

That's why they have gone on an unplanned vacation.

The good news is at least they are together.

And together they will rediscover the key:

SURRENDER.

My poetic memoir represents my journey of self-discovery as a creative woman. By writing and sharing moments from my life story, I have been able to better understand, accept, and love the identities I was born with and created. It has been an inner revolution that opened the door to authentic living. It has also helped me reinvent myself as a as a writer, artist, creativity coach, yoga teacher, Reiki Master practitioner, radio host, blogger, and social media strategist. In addition, this process has given me the opportunity to use British-born Canadian journalist, author, and pop sociologist Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers: The Story of Success as a framework for exploring and appreciating how childhood, family, culture, community, friendship, history, and geography have played a role in my life experiences, accomplishments, career trajectory, creativity, and spirituality. These efforts brought me face to face with my values, beliefs, social intelligence, and cultural legacies. What an eye-opening experience! This examination work continues even as I write this letter to you!

I hope my personal reflections, poetry, and stories give you a snapshot view of my creative journey and how I discovered the same state of grace and gratitude African American playwright Lorraine Hansberry wrote about: …life has within it that which is good, that which is beautiful and that which is love. Therefore, since I have known all of these things, I have found them to be reason enough and—I wish to live. Moreover, because this is so, I wish others to live for generations and generations and generations. May you discover and celebrate that which awakens you in your life.

Lokah samasta sukhino bhavantu (May all beings everywhere be happy). Tathaastu (So be it). Namaste (The light in me salutes the light in you.)

Be love, love light, and live as the spirit of life,

Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke

Washington, D.C.

May 13, 2009

Acknowledgements

My writing journey has never been and will never be a solo act. That’s why it is so important for me to say thank you to my special team of nurturing, sacred supporters:

Spirit, angels, ancestors, spirit guides, and master teachers

My parents John and Theresa Leeke

My brothers Mike, Mark, and Matt Leeke

My family

My book editor and brothalove friend Wayne P. Henry

My copy editor and life coach Yael Flusberg

My copy editor and meditation sistalove Kimberly Shults

My circle of sacred brothalove and sistalove friends (you know who you are)

My therapist Reverend Carolyn Francis

My Reiki Master teacher Shirley Jagdeo

My body wisdom coach Ken Yamaguchi-Clark

My meditation and mindfulness teacher La Sarmiento

My acupuncturist and ayurvedic practitioner Don Diggs

My yoga teachers Gloria, Faith Hunter, Mari Alonzo, and Debra Mishalove

My attorneys Lauren and Aislee Smith of TaxConcepts, LLC

My financial advisor Judy Weathers

My bankers Stephanie Lipscomb and Maxine R. Johnson, The Adams National Bank – Dupont Circle Branch

My accountant Michael Bush

My photographer Leigh Mosley

My stylist Sharon Malachi of Butterfly LP

My masseuse and mani-pedi man Phong of P&L Nail Spa Salon

My loctician Evette Chambers of City Kinks

My Insight Community of Washington, D.C.’s Refuge3 and People of Color Sangha members

Reverend Robert Hardies, Reverend Shana Lynngood, Reverend Louise Green, Reverend Joyce Palmer, Intern Reverend Walter LeFlore, and my All Souls Unitarian Church family

My sistalove support circle at various jobs: Momma Laura in the D.C. Office of the Chief Financial Officer in the 90s, Donna McKenzie, Iyante Anderson, Catania Jarrett Blake, Marie Butler, Sharon David, Judith Harris, Mei Kuo, Nabina Mganga, Lydia Nylander, Belinda Rochelle, and Daphyne Williams

My healthcare providers at Davidson Dental Associates, George Washington University Medical Associates, A Visual Affair, Dr. Isidore Zaiderman’s office, and Dr. Ashesh D. Patel’s office

St. Joseph Catholic Church

St. Augustine Catholic Church

Unity of Washington, D.C.

Howard University Hospital patients and staff

Holy Cross Hospital’s Breast Cancer Support Group

Washington Cancer Institute at Washington Hospital Center

kg yoga life practices clients and supporters

Kiamsha.com, LLC creativity coaching clients

The members of the Kind and Gentle C-OM-MUNITY Yoga Meetup Group

Toni Blackman, an author, writer, speaker, teacher, coach, musical ambassador, performer, and artist development consultant

E. Ethelbert Miller, a poet and D.C. poetry godfather

Holly Bass, a writer-in-residence at Busboys and Poets

Participants who attended the City as Memory: Lyrical City Workshop #1 held at Busboys and Poets on May 3, 2009

Lori L. Tharps, a freelance journalist, author, editor, and teacher

Participants who attended the Writing My Identity workshop held at All Souls Unitarian Church on October 5, 2008

Nancy Morgan, Director of the Arts and Humanities Program at Georgetown University Medical Center’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Clinic

Participants who attended the Writing for Health workshop held at the Joan Hisako Healing Arts Gallery on June 12, 2008

Kwame Alexander, a poet, publisher, playwright, producer, dynamic speaker, performer, and producer of the Capital BookFest

Capital BookFest staff, authors, and participants

Tim’m T. West, an author, poet, scholar, professor, emcee, activist, and founder of the Front Porch Spoken Word Series held at Mocha Hut

Front Porch Spoken Word Series artists and audience

Grace Ogden, Robin Carnes, and the Washington National Cathedral’s Sacred Circles conference staff, presenters, and participants

Diane Williams, Stanford Battle, and Rey Harris, the founders of Black Author Showcase social networking site and radio show

Gina McCauley, the founder of What About Our Daughters blog, Michelle Obama Watch blog, and the Blogging While Brown conference

Khadijah Ali-Coleman and Maceo Parker, the founders of Liberated Muse

Kelli Anderson, the founder of Sojournals.com

Jessica Solomon, the founder of The Saartjie Project

Members of The Saartjie Project

Milton Bowens, an artist and host of Civil Arts Radio

Howard University’s 2009 James A. Porter Colloquium on African American Art organizers, panelists, and participants

My online poetry buddies from Thursday Poetry posts and National Poetry Month 2008

Leah Piken Kolidas, an artist and the founder of Art Every Day Month

Jennifer Moore, the founder of Pink Heels

Jennifer Lee, the founder of Artizen Coaching

Jennifer Nedeau, the Women’s Rights Blogger for Change.org

Leah Mullen, an author and Life Coaching Columnist for Bella Online

Toni Dutton-Butler, Ruth Littlejohn, and the women who participated in the Sweet Spot of Sisterhood gathering in November 2008

2009 Feminism 2.0 Conference organizers, panelists, and participants

Monica McIntyre, Charyln Griffith, 2008 Black Women’s Arts Festival organizers, and the women who participated in the That Which Awakens Me workshop on August 2, 2008

Janean Bentley, Robin Ashton, and the staff at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia who attended my green living keynote address for National Women’s History Month on March 30, 2009

Martita Golden, M.J. Ryan, and Gail Straub, my writing angels

Jamie Ridler, the founder of the Next Chapter – 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women Book Blogging Group

Members of the Next Chapter – 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women Book Blogging Group

The bloggers I met at the 2008 Blogging While Brown Conference

The guests who appeared on my radio shows, BAP Living Radio and Go Green Sangha Radio

My friends on Myspace, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Blogher

Members of Ning.com social networking sites: BAP Living, Go Green Sangha, Black Author Showcase, Howard University Bison Roundup, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Guerilla Arts, Sojournals, Liberated Muse, SoulVegFolk, The Soul of Green, The Live Green Community, Java Green, Ecolocity DC, Black.Brown.Green.Network., Eco-Lifestyle: Your Green / Eco-Friendly Home Decor Resource, Essence.com Community, Sugar and Spice Magazine, My Black Girl Site, Quirky Black Girls, Divine9Online.com, IndiePublic, Black Women in Europe Social Network, Women of the African Diaspora, Aesthetic Ascension, S.K.Y. Society of Kemetic Yoga, Sacred Circles, Living In Black, Soul Commune, Black Writers Connect, Conscious Africans Connected, IN MY PAJAMAS SHOW, African American Opinion - Social and Political Networking, Networking Girls, Divapreneur, THE BLACK BUSINESS CAFE, NATIONAL SOCIETY OF SOUL, SistaTalk, Blacktino.net Community, K.I.N.K.Y Keep It Natural Know Yourself, eStepShow.com, Fit and 40 Something, What Black Women Think, For Real Solutions, and Creative Women Social Network

Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.

Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts

The Joan Hisako Healing Arts Gallery

The Women’s Collective

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library

Historical Society of Washington, D.C.

National League of American Pen Women – D.C. Chapter

My professors, teachers, and classmates at Kenmoor Elementary School, Kenmoor Junior High School, Elizabeth Seton High School, Morgan State University, Howard University School of Law, and Georgetown University Law Center

Women’s Caucus for Art – D.C. Chapter

Society for the Arts in Healthcare

Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington

Yoga Alliance

The staff at my favorite places to hang out and shop in DC: Trade Secrets, Emma Mae Gallery, Zawadi, Results Gym, Adams National Bank on 17th Street, Mocha Hut, Love Café, Cake Love, Busboys and Poets, 24/7 Café, Starbucks at 16th and U, Teaism, Rice, Bua, Sala Thai, Thai Chef, Zawadi, Tryst, The Diner, Jyoti Restaurant, Luna Grill, Café Luna, Whole Foods, Safeway on 17th Street and Columbia Road, YES Organic Market, Regent Thai, Utopia, Jo Jo’s, Black Cat, 9:30 Club, Landmark E Street Theatre, Bohemian Caverns, Café Nema, Crème, Java Green, CVS on 17th Street, Dupont Optical, Greater Goods, OLD CITY green, Shakti MindBody Studio, Maruka School for the Healing Arts andYoga, Flow Yoga Center, Studio Serenity, Tranquil Space Yoga, and Inspired Yoga

Everyone who interviewed me, purchased my novel and poetry chapbooks, organized and sponsored book readings, attended book events, shared my work with others, provided advice, taught me life lessons, and kept me lifted up in prayer

Musicians, vocalists, writers, and artists throughout my life (too many to name)

PG Suite Magazine, Washington Post, TheRoot.com, and Clutch Magazine

The iUniverse, Inc. staff

Chapter One: Honoring Ancestors. Family. History. Cultural Legacies.

If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people. Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, activist, and author

I feel like the ancestors brought us here and they expect great things. They expect us to say what we think and live how we feel and follow the hard paths that bring us near joy. Drew Dellinger, European American poet, teacher, and activist

Family represents a collection of individuals who are committed and bound together always and forever to provide love and support to one another. John F. Leeke, African American educator, organizational development consultant, and entrepreneur

I think knowing one’s history leads one to act in a more enlightened fashion. John Hope Franklin, African American historian

We are deeply, passionately connected to black women whose sense of aesthetics, whose commitment to ongoing creative work, inspires and sustains. We reclaim their history, call their names, state their particulars, to gather and remember to share our inheritance. bell hooks, African American author, poet, professor, and cultural critic

Cultural legacies are powerful forces. They have deep roots and long lives. They persist, generation after generation, virtually intact, even as the economic and social and demographic conditions that spawned them have vanished, and they play such a role in directing attitudes and behavior that we cannot make sense of our world without them. Malcolm Gladwell, British-born Canadian author

Elmina: Homage to the Ancestors

#1

In the middle of the night Spirit woke me and instructed me to do two things.

Cut my locs and go home to sit, pray, release, and renew on holy ground in the midst and comfort of my ancestors.

So the next morning, I made two phone calls.

One to my hairdresser.

The other to my travel agent.

By the end of that week, my locs were cut.

My head resembled that of a Tibetan monk who had gone four weeks without a shaving.

My travel itinerary was confirmed for Ghana and a day was planned for a visit to Elmina Castle, the holy ground where my ancestors’ spirits reside.

I was going home.

#2

How can a slave castle built in 1482 by the Portuguese traders as the first European slave trading post in all of sub-Saharan Africa be my holy ground or my home?

How can one of the many slave castles holding horrific memories of the African holocaust called the Maafa, a disaster, a terrible occurrence be sacred space for me?

How can I separate the inhumane acts and suffering of more than 10 million people of